Comments on: Thurman Lives

Thurman Lives

JHarris — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:13:52 -0800

Back in March I posted about the forgotten Nickelodeon show Turkey Television. Recently a full episode of the show (later era) has shown up on YouTube: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3.
If that's too much video tryptophan (even at its best, Turkey Television was amazingly uneven), here's a few clips (WARNING: CONTAINS UNCLE HOGRAM, also some of Uncle Floyd's bizarre Day In The Life Of A Food) from YouTube user 2reelers.

Highlights:

an episode of "The Uncle Hogram Program"
a clip from Mr. Hulot's Holiday
a dog being swung around acrobatically on stage
short cartoon clips from Mordillo
Mr. Fuddle (played by Tony Kahn -- wait, the one from WGBH Morning Stories?)
a few seconds of claymotion called "Eggville" (whose origins appear to be obscure)
a few clips of British comedians Don (Mclean) & Pete (Glaze) (here's a full short featuring the two -- and here's retrospective from Danny Baker on BBC1 -- throwing in the SECRET ORIGINS of Homer Simpson's "annoyed grunt" sound while we're there)
the same Thurman T. Turkey cartoon repeated twice
and a few seconds of chimp butt.

With clips containing the late, lamented Les Lye (Ross from You Can't Do That On Television, here as "Gramps").

By: JHarris

JHarris — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:20:09 -0800

I think I should note, this is a show basically invented by Nick execs to fill time. I make no claims that it's great (although sometimes it achieves a kind of greatness), just that it shouldn't be forgotten.

By: lkc

lkc — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:27:40 -0800

Wowzers, I totally forgot about this, until I read "Turkey Television" and the theme song went off in my head. I watched this whenever I could as a kid. Great memory, great find!

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:45:56 -0800

This show was like Night Flight for kids. I loved it. Thanks for posting this!

By: GamblingBlues

GamblingBlues — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:16:41 -0800

Since we're wandering back into 1980s Nickelodeon, I'll share the video I spent 20+ years hoping someone would load to Youtube, in which I both got to lead Salt Lake City, Utah as the Mayor and deliver the tag line "Kids' Day, on Nickelodeon" as a result to winning the non-grand-prize* in Nick's 1986 "Kids' Day" promotion. *Grand Prize was a trip to Toronto to meet Moose and get slimed at a taping of YCDTOTV. I truly, truly missed out on that win. Also, the newscaster at the beginning got to interview Jason and Justine Bateman on the local news. That was pretty cool, too. I just got front page on both local newspapers and the tagline on the commercial, which makes you PRETTY POPULAR as a dorky seventh grader in math classes full of ninth graders, I promise you. Oh, and I met Danger Mouse. There was that, too.

By: onya

onya — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:31:06 -0800

Nitpicking here, but turkey has about the same level of tryptophan as most other meats. Which isn't much.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:56:25 -0800

Not TV Turkey, and video Tryptophan. They can make even the stoutest brain pass out.

By: trackofalljades

trackofalljades — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:15:58 -0800

I think I should note, this is a show basically invented by Nick execs to fill time. That's crazy, for some reason all these years I thought it was some random Canadian show that they rebroadcast...so was it actually produced by Nick? Was it cobbled together from foreign sources and assembled in a new way, like Robotech or something?

By: JHarris

JHarris — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:28:31 -0800

Well to think of it, it's actually an assumption of mine. I have no real information on the show's origins, but one of the show's creators is Geraldine Laybourne, then an exec at Nick. The other is Roger Price, who produced You Can't Do That On Television. (Christine McGlade and Les Lye also came to the show from YCDTOT.)

By: azpenguin

azpenguin — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:55:08 -0800

Oh, and I met Danger Mouse. There was that, too. Ok, that's awesome. Man, Nickelodeon was too much fun back then. YKDTOTV, Turkey Television, Danger Mouse, and then Nick at Nite.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:20:57 -0800

Here's a supplemental clip: the video to Commander Cody's "Two Triple Cheese Side Order Of Fries", a Turkey Television staple.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 02:17:37 -0800

Ah! The guy who plays Uncle Hogram is Tom Riis Farrell. He's been on Broadway and Law & Order!

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:05:47 -0800

They also sometimes aired standup clips. One that was in frequent rotation was Dana Carvey's "Choppin' Broccoli" bit. They had another Carvey bit where he related a story of his brother Brad hooking up the leg of a dead frog to a battery to make it twitch.

By: neilbert

neilbert — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:53:02 -0800

The Commander Cody video unearthed the source of about 15 different half-remembered bits of video that have been stuck in my brain for a good 20 years. Thanks!

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 05:46:40 -0800

GARY GNU AND IVAN TELALY. omg my childhood

By: Spatch

Spatch — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:05:51 -0800

IVAN TELALY. Hero of Soviet Union [checks medal] forty-third class! Damn, that is bringing back memories. I also had mentally stashed away Vance Vain's "Good, my life is good" catchphrase. This and "Out of Control" ruled my TV-viewing life for a while.

By: orrnyereg

orrnyereg — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:56:39 -0800

Turrr-kee, Turkey TV, Turrr-kee, Turkey TV...

By: Guernsey Halleck

Guernsey Halleck — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:28:40 -0800

IVAN TELALY!!!! My God, I've been searching for this for ages! All I could remember was that bit where he checked his medal. I was starting to think I'd made it up.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:11:27 -0800

Turrr-kee, Turkey TV, Turrr-kee, Turkey TV... I much prefer the original theme song, most of which can be heard here. It's got a lot more Jim Thurman in it.

By: beatmenace

beatmenace — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 06:26:42 -0800

I'm glad other people remember TT! Wasn't there also a segment where they did sort of a Mystery Science Theater thing with either Night of the Living Dead or Invasion of the Body Snatchers?